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Glite Dictionary
📝 To summarize ➕ To add totals
to sum up

to sum up

1 2.1
Add several numbers to find the total
  • phrasal verb
  • /sʌm ʌp/
translation icon : sumar
  • Cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker has nicely summed up the problem presented by this experimental data in his 2002 book The Blank Slate:

And to do that, I just have to sum up all the amplitudes that lead to that state.

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Examples

  • The words of Grace Sherwood, in a pamphlet issued in 1932 by Ryan's Social Action Department, sum up the predominant view nicely.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The interior angles of a triangle always sum up to what degree?

  • " Let's sum up the apparent mistakes evident in just this one graph.

    Blog text (5)

  • To sum up, altruistic, self-related, and self-fulfillment goals are prevalent in the whole sample.

    Academic text (2006)

  • To sum up, biblical annotations are more significant for biblical interpretation and theological reflection and more varied in their functions than commonly realized.

    Academic text (2006)

  • John McGarry and Brendan O'Leary sum up these various explanations by grouping them into either exogenous or endogenous variants.

    Academic text (2006)

  • To find the total cost of the groceries, we need to sum up the prices of each item.

  • Please sum up the results of the experiment before the meeting begins.

  • At the end of the lecture, the teacher will sum up the main points discussed.

Synonyms

to add
vsto sum up
934 1.0

Put numbers or amounts together to find their total

is the same elementary addition action for finding totals
to sum
vsto sum up
168 1.0

To add two or more numbers to find their total

is the identical mathematical process for finding the final amount by addition
to add up
vsto sum up
118 1.0

Find the total of several numbers

is the same combining action used to find a numeric total
to total
vsto sum up
65 1.0

To add numbers together to find the whole amount

is the same process of reaching a final amount by adding parts
to roll up
vsto sum up
22 3.7

Collect small amounts until they become a larger total

refers specifically to arithmetic adding of numbers rather than general collecting
to tally
vsto sum up
18 3.0

To count or add things like points and votes

is purely the arithmetic adding of numbers rather than counting or recording
to add together
vsto sum up
7 1.0

To calculate the total of two or more numbers by putting them together

is the same basic arithmetic action applied to several numbers
to tote up
vsto sum up
  • UK
1 4.3

Add numbers to find the total

is the same action of finding a total by addition
to tot
vsto sum up
  • UK
1 8.8

To add numbers together to find the total

is the same numeric totaling action in general contexts
to totalize
vsto sum up
  • US
1 7.4

Join numbers or ideas to make one whole

is the narrower arithmetic adding of numbers not merging into one entity
to foot up
vsto sum up
  • Jargon
1 8.4

Add numbers in a column to find the total

is the general act of adding numbers not tied to accounting
to tot up
vsto sum up
  • UK
5.1

To add a group of numbers to find the total

is the same arithmetic action focused on numbers rather than items broadly
to summate
vsto sum up
7.8

To add small amounts together to make a total

focuses on numeric totals specifically rather than combined effects

Antonyms

to subtract
56 1.6

To take one number away from another

Surface Forms

sum up infinitive
summed up past
summed up past participle
summing up present participle
sums up third person singular

Morphology

sum + up

The verb meaning 'to find the total' is directly derivable from 'sum' (total/add) combined with the particle 'up' which commonly signals aggregation or completion; this compositional pattern is regular in English and found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning. Even the related sense 'to summarize' is similarly built from 'sum' (main point/total) + 'up' (bring together), so the expression is broadly transparent.

Etymology

Sum up comes from adding numbers: the word sum means the result of adding and up shows you put the parts together, like piling coins into one heap to count them. That's why it means 'to add together'.